Terps Appoint Special Teams Coordinator
12/7/2000 7:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2000
University of Maryland head football coach Ralph Friedgen announced today the hiring of Ray Rychleski as special teams coordinator. Rychleski (pronounced: rich-LESS-key) is the fifth addition to the Terrapin staff after the recent hirings of offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe, secondary coach Gary Blackney and defensive tackles coach Dave Sollazzo. Running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Mike Locksley was retained from the previous staff.
Rychleski comes to Maryland by way of Wake Forest where he served as tight ends coach for the past eight years under Jim Caldwell. He joins Sollazzo as the second assistant -- not including Locksley -- to come from an ACC school as Sollazzo coached the last two years at Georgia Tech.
"Ray was in charge of special teams at Wake Forest and I felt he had the best special teams in the ACC," said Friedgen. "That was a major reason I was attracted to him in addition to the fact that he is a versatile coach who can coach either offense or defense. I'm happy to add him to our staff."
The following is an updated bio on the newest addition to the Terrapin coaching staff:
Ray Rychleski
(Millersville University, `79)
Special Teams Coordinator
Name pronounced: rich-LESS-key
Ray Rychleski comes to Maryland with 19 years of coaching experience, including 17 at the collegiate level. He served his last eight years at Wake Forest University and his tenure can best be described as diverse.
For the last two years, Rychleski was the Demon Deacons' tight ends coach while also coaching the punt, field goal and kickoff return units on special teams. For the three years prior to becoming tight ends coach (1996-98), he worked with WFU's outside linebackers. During his first three seasons at Wake (1993-95), Rychleski coached the defensive line.
Rychleski began his coaching career on the prep level in Pennsylvania in 1979 before heading to Temple University to take his first full-time collegiate position as a defensive backs and outside linebackers coach. He spent eight years at Temple (1981-88) before heading to Northeastern (1989-90) as a defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach. After two years at Northeastern, Rychleski spent two years at Penn State (1991-92, offensive line) and one summer with the Toronto Argonauts (1992, defense) as a volunteer assistant.
In 1992, Rychleski was hired as defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at East Stroudsburg University where he helped the Warriors to their best record in 13 years. After his brief stint in Stroudsburg, he left for Wake Forest in 1993.
A native of Old Forge, Pa., Rychleski earned his degree in social studies from Millersville (Pa.) University in 1979.
The Rychleski File
Personal
Date of Birth: September 27, 1957
Hometown: Old Forge, Pa.
Alma Mater: Millersville (Pa.) University, `79
Coaching Experience
Wake Forest
1999-2000 Assistant Coach - Tight Ends/Offensive Special Teams
1996-98 Outside Linebackers/Defensive Special Teams
1993-95 Defensive Line/Defensive Special Teams
East Stroudsburg
1992 Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator/Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive
Backs
Toronto Argonauts
Summer, 1992 Volunteer Assistant Coach - Defense
Penn State
1991-92 Volunteer Assistant Coach - Offensive Line
Northeastern
1989-90 Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinators/Inside Linebackers
Penn State
Spring, 1989 Volunteer Assistant Coach - Secondary
Temple
1981-88 Assistant Coach - Defensive Backs/Outside Linebackers
Neshaminy (Pa.) High School
1980 Head Coach - Freshman Team
Manheim (Pa.) Township High School
1979 Assistant Coach - Quarterbacks/Defensive Backs
"To come to Maryland, a place that has such a strong history and a national championship under its belt, it excites me to have a chance to bring the program back to where it once was. I am from the Pennsylvania Coal Region and there have been a lot of great players from that region who have played at Maryland, so I have great memories of people that have played here. I have never been at a place this good before and I feel like it is one of the top 10 jobs in the country. I can't wait to get started and begin recruiting and help get this thing back where it should be. "
Ray Rychleski New Terrapin Special Teams Coordinator
Transactions
College
Maryland - Hired Ray Rychleski, former Wake Forest assistant, as special teams coordinator.
